2023 | Architecture Portfolio

CONTENTS

The Warrendale Community Market is a catalyst for change and sustainable practices, both environmentally and socially. Supermarkets play a significant role in food production and distribution- this has become highly evident in the last several months, with health and supply chain relationships being highly at risk due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This supermarket mitigates present social and environmental conditions that, if not addressed, will have lasting negative impacts. The market implements the commons as a utility and food supply resource.

Heat recovery systems in supermarket refrigeration recover energy and supply the local community with the surplus by redirecting it to the neighborhood’s electrical grid. This operation reduces the electricity costs of the neighbors it serves due to increased supply. In addition, the introduction of a deployable market reduces the trips community members take to purchase their groceries- reducing the carbon footprint they generate and mitigating the lack of food accessibility in given areas.

WARRENDALE COMMUNITY MARKET U-M | ARCH 552 | PROF. JOSE SANCHEZ

With close to 10 designated food deserts in Detroit, the market travels as far as 30 minutes in a given week to supply healthy food options to these communities. To further increase communication of this supermarket infrastructure, a digital application informs users of the truck’s whereabouts. Given that many of the communities it serves are lower-income and may have limited access to technology, the service functions on a set schedule, like recycling routes. In contrast to platforms like amazon

fresh, this would not be an on-demand service, maintaining the emphasis on reducing trips and pollution. The app also informs users about the market’s energy consumption, its recovery, and finally, the amounts they are supplying to the community. In its deployments, the market comprises different cubical seating and shelving systems that can reconfigure to create spaces according to the community’s market needs. This framework promotes engagement with the community and gives members a sense of place.

RESILIENCE TOWER UF | ARC 4322 | PROF. DONNA COHEN | PARTNER: DAVID WALLMUELLER

With continuous changes in climate and population growth, Manhattan needs to generate plans to mitigate the effects of extreme weather conditions. The 2012 natural disaster flooded Manhattan’s streets, significantly impacting the borough’s edge. Since the disaster, BIG implemented a plan for future extreme flooding that would surround the lower end of the island of Manhattan. Situated on the northern edge of Battery Park on State Road and Whitehall Street, our project integrates with BIG’s proposed plan. The proposed design allows water to flow freely- rather than retain it- if water levels exceed

the height of the seawall. Lifting the ground level of the building to the height of the seawall would allow for this. One of the programmatic ideas included in the Big U is urban farming, which would also extend vertically in our building design and serve as one of the primary functions of the building. In addition to being an extension of ideas of the Big U, our design physically attaches to the public space of our proposed section of the seawall project. Following that attachment, the form of the building carves the vertical atmosphere. This form creates a larger scale of connection to the public space.

Ground level farmer’s market

The building sits unobstructed on the southern end of Manhattan, adjacent to Battery Park, obtaining ample sunlight. Given these conditions, the incorporation of transparent photovoltaic panels as a layer of the building facade supports the resiliency of the building. Farming areas would serve the residents of the building and the public. Given that the ground level is most vulnerable during flood conditions,

the design proposes a polyvalent ground floor. The programmatic ideas of the farming terraces and the farmer’s market would connect the people within the building and engage local communities. Resilience Tower follows a sustainable design approach that would enhance people’s everyday lives and provide support during natural phenomena.

JACKSONVILLE ART GALLERY UF | ARC 3321 | PROF. MICHAEL KUENSTLE

Located in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, the gallery site is compressed between two pre-existing structures. Contextually, the building design is distinctive from the prevailing facades of the city center. However, rather than oppose the neighboring brick facades, the organic composition of the Voronoi highlights their identity while maintaining congruity with the scale of the streetscape.

At approximately 3,500 square feet, the vertical arrangement of programmatic elements is essential for their functionality within the limited area. Made up of three exhibition spaces, the gallery reveals a visual connection at the second level. Supplementary spaces are organized collinearly on the southern side of the building.

By retracting from the site’s limits on the second and third levels, light is allowed to filter through the facade. This condition also provides a spatial relationship between the second and third galleries.

Administrative

Exhibition

Circulation

SHELL MOUND LANDSCAPE INTERVENTION

Shell Mound is an archaeological site located on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Through the analysis of Shell Mound, three distinct interventions were realized- each responding to different elements within the vast landscape. The experiential qualities of each intervention are embedded in its relationship to the site. With the trajectory of the sun and moon across the sky, the inflow and outflow of the tide levels throughout the day react accordingly, affecting conditions and activities on site. The concealment and revelation of the oyster shell mounds and wildlife activity are most notable.

The program is based on movement through the site by way of kayak. Upon arrival, the occupier pulls the kayak down the ramp- the first measure of tide and change in site perception. Among the activities experienced on-site are kayaking, fishing, gathering, and wildlife watching. The second intervention, located at the edge of an annulus-shaped mound, embodies these activities and adapts to the environmental changes occurring throughout the day. Stepping upward to the southern side of the intervention, the view is directed westward towards the vegetative landscape beyond. Synonymous to the screen-like effect of

the sawgrass, the fire intended for fish cooking conceals and reveals the site as it flickers. A natural filtration system composed of layers of sawgrass and rocks allows occupiers to harvest usable water. This element is obtained by facing northward or southward- views consumed by the vastness of water contained within the horizon. Rising tide levels force a shift in occupation to the northern side of the intervention. The final intervention is immersed in the walls of the sawgrass, giving way to a phenomenological experience within the natural landscape.

Immersed in the vastness of Paynes Prairie in Alachua County, Florida, the anthropological container functions as a meditative shelter. In contrast to the connecting highway, the pathway to the pavilion renders a long processional walk into the landscape. Based on the idea of the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- the pavilion comprises

three layers. Materiality plays a vital role in embodying this idea. The translucency of the first two layers and vertical elements frame the infinite landscape. Above them hovers a large cloud-like structure promoting a sense of security and protection from the natural elements.

North Elevation

South Elevation

West Elevation

East Elevation

An exploration of systems (primary, secondary, tertiary) developed to create a whole, focusing on its anthropological qualities. Each system is responsive to the other ones form. For example, the secondary system fluctuates in opposite directions, creating a zigzag-like form. The system’s directionality alternates and repeats vertically, creating an irregular facade. Holding this system in place are vertical elements

that respond to the directional shifts of the secondary system. The protective wall enclosure is completed with modular components that are reactive to the alternating vertical structure on the exterior. The roof, contained within the primary and secondary structure, provides overhead protection from natural elements.

REDISTRIBUTING PROSPERITY U-M | ARCH 562 | PROF. MARÍA ARQUERO DE ALARCÓN | UN-HABITAT PARTNERS: SHANDRA BERNATH-PLAISTED + DANIELLE WEITZMAN

Redistributing prosperity seeks to integrate urban policy and design into sustainable urban development practices to accelerate climate change action in the Indian city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. In partnership with the UN-Habitat’s Policy, Legislation, and Governance (PLG), the Innovation Section, UN-Habitat India, and their Government Partners, and the UN-Habitat Sustainable Cities: Integrated Approach Pilot Project in Jaipur, this design framework was one of four imagined futures for Jaipur’s Jyoti Nagar.

The Jyoti Nagar Housing Board Flats redevelopment presents

opportunities to increase the affordable housing offer and incentivize economic growth, community engagement, and mitigation and adaptation planning. Together with developing a dense and compact housing scheme, our proposal places the Urban Equity Resource Center as a central component. Housing the Jyoti Nagar Citizens’ Council, the center advances the collaboration of various urban actors, mainly including precarious neighborhood dwellers seeking to meet their socio-economic and physical needs and the non-profit groups working with them.

Skills and job training

Childcare

Material supply

NATURE’S COLLECTIVE: A FAMILY

MATTER U-M | ARCH 672 | PROF. ABRONS + MILLER

PARTNERS: KEVIN BECHARD + ANKIT PATEL

Nature’s Collective: A Family Matter strives to approach “in the middle‘’ housing typologies through a lens that fosters connections between single parents, children, multi-generational families, and nature while also deconstructing problems we found associated with singlefamily multifamily housing. Our research found that current housing types listed as “single-family” largely, if not solely, cater to the “typical family structure” of a man, woman, and children. Queer, multi-generational, and single-parent families exist, but affordable and realistic housing types do not.

The overall strategy aims at enhancing the quality of life of residents and workers, mitigating industrial and transportation carbon emissions, boosting land value, managing the flow of people and goods through channels to enhance safety, establishing a long-term hybrid human landscape through an ecological approach, and enhancing the local economy through cost-effective and energy-efficient strategies that elevate the imageability of Eastern Market as an industrial asset to the City of Detroit.

Multi-generational

Single Parent

Mixed (Single and Multi)

Throughout our investigations, the number of single parents in the Detroit area became primarily apparent, where mothers make up 72% of this demographic. Additionally, median income rates are relatively low compared to Michigan, and the overall age of the population in Detroit is 18 or younger. With this data, single-parents and multigenerational families became our target audience. Focusing on social, community, and family conditions, it was also essential to emphasize the natural environment’s effects on mental, physical, and emotional health. The project seeks to generate a harmonious relationship between humans and nature by introducing complementary spaces that define

community, nature, and city. This is achieved through a series of cylindrical and rectangular geometries that come together to define private and public spaces. Sitting at the Dequindre Cut level, the transparency of forms invites passersby onto the site, amenities, and further into the courtyard. Access on all sides of the property and elevated structures allow for the flow of pedestrians into and out of the site. This design approach also centers around the ecological term Stepping Stone patch- a generalized network model of habitat connectivity crucial for species’ long-distance dispersal and range expansion through habitat networks across generations.

View from the Dequindre Cut

With children primarily making up most of the residents in the building, it was only applicable to add an area for parents to have a release from their young children. Daycare spaces within the residences allow for parents to drop off their children with a daycare instructor or other parents who may be attending daycare. In addition, the building plan

implements a counseling center to assist multi-generational families with issues that may arise due to generational gaps. Similarly, placing two families in a unit may require transition periods, especially in the first few weeks of getting familiar with one another. A counseling center allows both parents and children access to any needed services.

The project creates a home that caters to the needs of different and multiple family types. For example, single-parent occupancies may utilize multiple rooms as kids’ rooms or make the “largest room” a shared bedroom. In multi-generational families, grandparents, in-laws, or other family members may stay with an adult and child, meaning a separate bedroom for older family members was critical to the plan design. By creating rooms that have no designated labels, like the typical single-family home, rooms can have endless possibilities of combined or uncombined spaces. A typical unit serves to house 6-8 people depending on whether

the apartment houses more children or adults. Movable partition walls allow for rooms to vary and change in size to accompany more children in one space. Living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens are combined to introduce shared activities between families. A door that is also accessible between the biggest or, in some cases- the parent’s room allows for easy access for parents who may have young children or toddlers who wake up frequently at night. The inverse can also be used if an elder member of the family may need care during certain day hours.

Housing unit for single parent and/or multi-generational families.

Housing unit for single parent and/or multi-generational families.

In considering the environment’s well-being and building occupants, sustainable materials and construction methods were selected. The project employs light gauge steel as the primary structure. This versatile building material can shape itself to any form and be clad and insulated with a wide range of materials. Its lightweight but strong qualities make it an ideal construction material. The exterior is clad with Richlite

panels- an eco-friendly paper-based fiber composite that works like dense hardwood. The auxiliary structures, comprised of circulatory and amenity spaces, and public areas are enclosed with curtain wall systems, allowing maximum natural light to enter. The curtain wall system is clad with vertical wood slats that act as a permanent shading device and generate privacy in residential circulation.

Green Roof System

Compression insulation

Break or movement joint to prevent damage to Richlite Cladding System

Gap between rails for expansion and contraction/ floor movement

Roof deflection track

Hardware CI-Girt wall anchor

Metal drip flashing

Double-pane window

Sill plate

Sealant bead fill to outside

Metal drip flashing

Metal panel rail track system by Knight Wall Systems

Cellulose insulation (Achieve Passive House/ R-30 Value)

Open for airflow

Richlite Cladding Panel (TYP.)

5-1/4” Stainless steel CI-Girt wall anchor

Protection sheathing over rockwool

Light gauge steel, 18 gauge min.

Protection sheathing over rockwool

3/4” Gyp. board

2” Panel rail system by Knight Wall Systems

1” stainless steel Tek screw

Metal drip

Baseboard

Finish floor

CENTER FOR FAMILY AND CHILD ENRICHMENT PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | JSA GROUP, INC.

The Center for Family and Child Enrichment is an organization in Miami Gardens, Florida that primarily offers behavioral health services to children and adolescents in low-income areas and medical services to the community. The scope of work entailed remodeling and renovating numerous areas, dividing them into three phases to maintain the facility’s daily operation and reduce costs. Once a commercial

center, the conversion and illegal modifications rendered unsafe circulatory conditions. In addition, the layout and room sizing for every department were ineffective for activities and strongly required a new composition. The existing layout restrictions and budget restrictions produced a challenging assignment.

PROPORTIONAL BALANCE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | BERENBLUM BUSCH ARCHITECTS

This residential project is an addition to an existing waterfront home in the Sunrise Harbor neighborhood of Coral Gables. The design prioritizes proportionality to converge traditional and contemporary styles. By utilizing horizontal planes, the two-story addition establishes a strong visual connection with the existing residence. The rear side of the building features large windows that offer breathtaking views of the waterway and foster a harmonious integration with the surrounding natural environment. The spaces were thoughtfully designed for

large and intimate gatherings, with a seamless flow between the indoor and outdoor areas. The lush vegetation surrounding the property provides a natural screen, ensuring privacy for the residents while enhancing the property’s overall aesthetic appeal. Additionally, the project considers the unique architectural character of the surrounding neighborhood. It incorporates design elements that complement the existing buildings, ensuring the new addition adds value to the area while preserving its distinctive character.

ALL ASHORE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | BERENBLUM BUSCH ARCHITECTS

This project entailed designing cabanas and buildings to support amenities and back-of-house operations in two areas of the project site- on-land and on-water. Upon arrival, guests are welcomed by a monumental stone entry gate that transitions into these two intimate areas of the property. The cabanas are positioned along a shared path, offering a scenic view of the ocean on the backside. Environmental considerations were critical factors integrated into the design- including preserving existing vegetation and avoiding

shoreline intrusion. The design aims to create a serene and peaceful vacation space enhanced by lush greenery and carefully curated views. Local materials and design aesthetics were utilized to achieve a high-end atmosphere that reflects the region’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. It incorporates various natural materials, including wood, stone, and woven fibers, to provide warmth, comfort, and seamless integration with the surrounding landscape providing guests with an immersive and captivating vacation experience.